


Playing Both Sides

by krazikrys



Category: Anthem Lights (Band), Backstreet Boys
Genre: Bi-Curiosity, Bisexual Character, Bisexual Female Character, Bisexual Male Character, Bisexuality, Boys Kissing, Coming Out, Gen, Karaoke, Kissing, Pride, Questioning, Undressing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-20
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:07:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 14,172
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27115151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/krazikrys/pseuds/krazikrys
Summary: Baylee Littrell is questioning himself. He's not sure if he can like both girls and boys. Oddly, a viral video endorsed by his father's group leads him to a couple who may be able to help answer his questions.
Relationships: Brian Littrell/Leighanne Littrell
Kudos: 7





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Don't know them. Never met them, save for Baylee and Leighanne. No harm meant in this one!

Baylee lay on the hardwood floor staring up at the ceiling. He didn’t usually just hang out on the court. He was either playing ball or playing guitar because the room had awesome acoustics. But at that moment, he was trying to collect his thoughts. They were swimming from the interaction he had just had with his dad in the kitchen.

His father’s phone had been pinging all day with text messages. Baylee hadn’t really been paying attention. But finally, his father had shown them what it was that was causing him to be staring at his phone all day. Brian had pulled it up on the television screen they had in the kitchen and shown the video that had apparently gone viral. 

Baylee had sat there at the table, stunned. The video showcased another group singing one of his father’s songs. He had heard it before. But what was different this time was that the band, Anthem Lights, a Christian group, was performing the song, “As Long As You Love Me,” live. The video and the sound were of decent quality and as Baylee had watched, he became more and more self-conscious. The camera panned the audience, which really wasn’t that many people. There were two people, a young man not much older than he was, and a woman, sitting in two chairs directly in front of the band. They were holding hands and the woman had her head leaning on the man’s shoulder. As the camera panned around them, Baylee found himself holding his breath. There was a pink, purple, and blue flag draped over their shoulders.

As the video ended, Baylee had tried to appear as normal as possible. “Aww, that was sweet,” his mom had said.

“I know,” Brian had replied, sitting down next to his wife. “The group’s been tagged about a million times since it was posted.”

“And has the group finally given their blessing?” Leighanne asked.

Brian nodded slowly. “Yesterday.”

“So why all the text messages?” Baylee asked.

Closing his eyes, Brian said, “Apparently, Nick and Alex reached out to the couple via Twitter and Instagram. You know, just comments on the original post.” Brian shrugged. “They just wanted to make sure I was still okay with it, as it’s kind of become this LGBT thing now.”

Baylee had stared at his parents as they had shifted the conversation. When he had finally been able to think of a way to escape, he had raced to his room and grabbed his tablet. Searching for the video on his iPad, he found it in several different places, websites, zines, and even on the Ellen show. There were a lot of differing opinions on the video, some good, some not so good. After reading through a bunch, Baylee had headed for the gym. He had tried shooting but every ball that left his hands was off. Eventually, he had stopped and just laid down. His brain was jumbled. He didn’t know what to think.

Pulling out his phone, he pulled up his Instagram and scrolled through it. He actually searched for the video there and found it on the band’s feed. His father’s group had finally shared the video as well. Sighing, he watched it for about the tenth time. It wasn’t a proposal. It wasn’t really much more than the pair of them saying they were a couple. He was really curious about both of them. Were they both bi, and that was the reason for the bi flag? Was this like their “coming out”? He sighed and sat up. Wandering back upstairs he walked the familiar halls back towards his room, his face buried in his phone as he searched both their Instagram accounts.

Reaching the kitchen, he glanced outside. It was raining. He sighed. Baylee snagged a bottle of water from the fridge and sat down where he had been earlier. He scrolled the guy’s account first. His name was Kody. He was a gorgeous young man with dark hair that hung over his eyes. Kody was _definitely_ out as a bi boy. He had photos of himself at Pride and other events. So the video was probably not necessarily about _him_ coming out. He switched to the girl. Her name was Bec. She primarily shared pictures of her dogs. She was older than Kody with dark hair that she tended to keep cut short. She didn’t take a ton of selfies like Kody did. 

Sighing, Baylee closed out the app and slid his phone into his pocket. His emotions were still all mixed up. His parents’ reaction to the video made him uneasy. He wasn’t sure how to feel. Part of him wanted to reach out, and part of him wanted to keep things quiet.

* * *

Two days later, Baylee was staring at his phone again. There had been another post of the video and this one made Baylee’s stomach turn. The article had said the couple was just doing it for attention. He knew now that wasn’t the case. Kody had posted a clip from his phone about why he had chosen that song. Baylee had watched the clip a dozen times already. He pulled it up on Instagram. It was from the day of the video.

“Hey, guys!” Kody said into the camera. “So, this surprise is about to happen today! She has no idea! But I know some people are probably going to wonder why this song with this group. See, Bec is a huge Backstreet Boys fan. We saw them together the last time they were on tour. But trying to get them to do anything like this outside of a meet and greet is like moving mountains!” Baylee chuckled to himself. “Anyway, I’ve known Spencer since I was a kid before I moved to California. They were coming out here to do some recording, so I made this happen. And as for the song, well, it’s kinda like a bi anthem. There are no pronouns and it’s really just talking about loving the other person, no matter what. Plus their version is amazing! I figure if I can’t get the Backstreet Boys, this is the next best thing. Hey, gotta go! But we’re getting close!”

Baylee sighed. He hadn’t thought about the song like that but as he pressed play on the video on his phone, he closed his eyes. He’d seen the video about a gazillion times. He’d heard the story of how his father had met his mother on the set of that video about two gazillion times. This time, he just wanted to listen to the song. As he sat there, he realized that in some way, Kody was right. There weren’t any pronouns and it was just talking about loving someone for who they were.

He really wanted to talk to someone about how he was feeling, but every time he looked at Kody’s Instagram, his heart fluttered and his stomach rolled. He looked over at Bec’s. She didn’t seem as outgoing and maybe a little safer. He definitely didn’t want his secret getting out yet. Slipping to her profile again, he hesitated a moment before typing out a message directly to her. He hoped she wouldn’t freak out.

Hey. It’s Baylee. Really. I saw  
your video and I had a few  
questions. Hope you can answer  
them.

It was a while before he got a response and it was pretty much what he was looking for.

Hey Baylee!  
What can I  
do for you?

Baylee took a breath and stared at his phone. Was he really about to do this?

For one, this needs to be  
kept super quiet right now.  
You’re bi, right? Like Kody?

Yeah...

But how did you know…

That I was bi? I didn’t.  
Until recently. Shoulda  
known years ago.

Really?

Yeah. Long story. Too  
long for text. Why?  
Are you wondering?

Baylee’s heart leaped into his throat and he found it hard to swallow or even breathe. He stared at the screen and then hastily closed out of Instagram. How could he have even thought about asking someone else? He held his phone on his chest and tried to breathe normally. Sitting up, he swung his legs over the side of his bed and tried to collect himself. He hoped Bec would keep their conversation private. He didn’t want things to blow up on him. Pacing his floor, he ran his hand through his hair when he heard his phone ping. Looking at it, he saw it was from Instagram. Sighing, he stood there and unlocked his phone.

Sorry if I said it wrong.  
I’m still learning all this  
myself. I’m not trying to  
push you towards anything.  
But I’m here if you wanna  
talk. Kody is so much  
better at this than I am.

Baylee smiled slightly. Slowly he began typing a response.

Sorry I freaked.  
Yes, I am questioning.  
I don’t know what I  
feel right now. Maybe  
we can FaceTime?

Crazy Apple User!  
Zoom! Send me an  
invite and a time.

Baylee laughed out loud at the comment and then jumped into his Zoom account. Looking at his schedule and when might be a good time, he opted for a middle of the night time for himself. He could easily lock himself somewhere in the house and his parents would be none the wiser. He hoped the late-night time wasn’t going to be difficult for her. But then he remembered the time difference between Atlanta and California and knew that it would only be like ten at night there. He sent the link and the invite and hoped she’d be okay with it, being it was the next day. Her thumbs up emoji made his heart swell, though he wasn’t sure what it was he wanted to talk about. He had at least a day to figure it out.

* * *

The next night, Baylee managed to shake his dad and head to his room around midnight. Looking around his room, he found his charging cable and headed back down the hall. Picking a guest room, he slipped inside, knowing neither of his parents would bother him. Sighing, he curled up on the bed and plugged his phone into the lamp, knowing Zoom liked to drain his battery. He didn’t know what he wanted to say. He wasn’t even sure if he was going to go through with this meeting. He opened up his phone and scrolled Facebook for a bit. If his friends knew about these fleeting feelings that ran through his body… He didn’t want to think about it.

Glancing at the clock, he saw it was close to one in the morning, finally. His heart leaped. Opening the app on his phone, he took a breath. This Zoom was way different from others he had done, he knew that much. He popped his headphones into his phone, not wanting to take the chance of his parents walking by and hearing a strange voice other than his own. Closing his eyes, he connected and waited. Hearing the familiar ping in his ears, he opened his eyes. There on his phone was the brunette with the spiky hair. She was obviously in bed and he instantly felt bad.

“Sorry for making this so late,” he instantly apologized.

“Don’t worry about it,” she said softly. “I’m usually still awake at this time anyway.”

“Really?”

She smiled at him. “Yeah, waiting for either you or your dad to post on Instagram. This seems to be your preferred time.”

Baylee laughed. “Yeah, I guess we do post kinda late, huh?”

“So what did you wanna talk about?” She asked. “I know it wasn’t about your Instagram posting habits.”

Baylee’s momentary relief vanished as he thought about what he was really doing on this call. “It’s just… well… I can’t really talk to anyone about it… but…”

Bec smiled gently at him. “Guys give you butterflies?” Baylee blushed. “Kinda figured. That’s why Kody’s not here.” She paused. “So is that the big secret?”

Baylee shrugged. “Kinda. I mean, I have a girlfriend…”

“But you’ve noticed that some guys make you feel…” Baylee nodded before she continued. “There’s nothing wrong with it,” she said. “Like I said in your DM, I should’ve known years ago, like when I was your age.”

“What do you mean?”

Now it was Bec’s turn to blush. “As you probably have guessed by now, your father is my favorite in the group.” Baylee nodded. “Well, back when I was seventeen, I went to the _Black and Blue_ tour. Their opening act at the time was a girl named Krystal. I crushed hard over her. Like I said, I should’ve realized I was bi because I still crushed and dreamed about your father. But I thought you could only be one or the other.”

“What made you realize it now?”

She shrugged as best she could under the covers. “I don’t know. Thought for the longest time I was straight. Then I saw a girl and my heart leaped. I knew instantly that she wasn’t straight, but she had a partner.” Bec sighed. “That was when I realized that I still loved guys but certain girls made me happy too. That was when I stumbled onto a group online that basically said that being bi didn’t mean you had to be fifty-fifty.” Baylee blinked and stared at her. “Yeah, kinda amazing, huh?”

“Yeah…” Baylee breathed, feeling instantly at ease.

“It doesn’t even mean you have to be sexually attracted to the opposite sex. It just means that you love regardless of gender. That’s where I met Kody a year ago now. We were strictly online only with a couple of dates here and there until about three months ago. That’s when he decided to surprise me.”

“Were you out before the video?” Baylee shifted in the bed.

Bec smiled. “Not like I was when it went viral. I mean, I didn’t hide it, but I didn’t flaunt it either. Kody’s my first relationship in like nearly a decade so I didn’t have to worry about coming out to someone.”

“Had you talked about it?”

“Oh of course! That’s like the one big no-no. You don’t out someone. It’s your news to tell.”

Baylee visibly relaxed. “So you won’t tell anyone about this?”

“Nope…” There was a pause. “But I would like to tell Kody.”

Baylee froze. He almost signed out. “Why?” he choked.

Bec smiled at him. “There are some things that bi boys go through that you may want to know about. I’m not an expert. Neither is he, but he’s been out longer than me. He might be able to answer more of your questions.”

“Like what?”

“It’s called bi-erasure. We call it Bingo. But if you want to be with a guy at some point, Kody may be able to help you with it.”

“Can you be bi if you haven’t been with the same gender?” Baylee asked. The idea of being with another guy still weirded him out.

Bec shook her head slightly and smiled. “Of course you can! It’s about love, Bay, not necessarily sex.” She yawned. “But if you want to date a guy, there are somethings that Kody might be able to help you navigate.”

Sighing, Baylee finally agreed. “Okay, you can tell him, but you can’t tell anyone else.”

“Of course not,” she yawned again. “I should probably get to sleep, Baylee. If you have more questions, feel free to slide into my DMs again. And of course, we can chat again.”

Baylee agreed and they disconnected. He lay there on the bed for a long time, just staring at his phone, not really believing what he had done. Bec and soon, Kody, were the only people who knew his secret. And even then, he wasn’t entirely sure it was something to be secretive about. Sure he was questioning things, but he was still together with his girlfriend. It didn’t change anything, did it?


	2. Chapter 2

Eventually, things surrounding the video began to die down. Baylee watched as the next viral craze took over and Bec and Kody’s video took a backseat. But at the same time, he continued to send messages every so often to Bec. About a week after the craze died down, Baylee scheduled another Zoom. His week had been chaotic hell. When he had been out with his girlfriend earlier that week, he had been stopped by a couple of fans. He didn’t mind and thankfully his girlfriend hadn’t either, but as they were walking back to his truck, a cute guy had caught his eye. His momentary gaze had made his girlfriend stop and look. “Oooh, he’s cute,” she had said.

“Yeah…” he had replied absently and turned away. 

She had stared at him for a long hard minute and Baylee felt his heart in his throat. “But you’re cuter,” she had replied, leaning over and kissing his cheek.

Taking a deep breath, he had smiled at her before they headed to his truck.

That had been Monday. On Thursday, his friends had teased him when they caught him looking at another hot guy. It had been a fleeting glance, but Aidan had caught it. “You’re not switching sides on us now, are you Bay?” he had teased.

“Nah…” he had replied when in reality he wanted to say something different.

It was now Saturday night, well, technically Sunday morning, and he was waiting for the familiar ping from Zoom. Bec had said in the messages that she was bringing Kody in on this one and he wasn’t entirely sure why. This time, he was hiding in the gym, knowing his dad had just finished. He sat on the floor with his back against the wall and his headphones in. He heard the ping in his ear and looked down at his phone. There was Bec, sitting on her couch this time. He smiled. “Hey,” he said.

“Hey,” she replied smiling back. “Hope you don’t mind, I told you Kody was coming to this one, right?”

He nodded, right as Kody slid into the frame from Bec’s left. Baylee caught his breath at the man’s swept-back dark hair and striking features. “Why hello, my bi-curious brother…” Kody said with a smooth soft voice.

Baylee blushed and almost backed out of the call, but stopped himself when he heard Bec saying, “I told you not to be so forward! We talked about this!” She had actually pushed him out of the frame for a second. She looked back at the screen and Baylee glanced back. “Ignore him. He’s been waiting for this all day.”

Baylee opened his eyes that he had realized he had closed and looked at the screen of his phone. It was just Bec for the moment and he sighed.

“He’s not usually so audacious,” she said softly.

“It’s okay,” Baylee whispered. He wasn’t entirely sure what made him so nervous about Kody. Was it his crazy good looks? Was it his flamboyant behavior? Was it his ultra-sexy voice? He knew Kody was taken, but in Baylee’s mind he was still hot and there wasn’t anything not to like about that, taken or not.

Baylee watched as Kody slowly slid back into the screen with a sheepish look on his face. “Sorry, Bro,” he said softly. “I didn’t mean to scare you.” Bec was watching him out of the corner of her eye. “Bec told me that you were curious and were asking questions.”

“Yeah,” Baylee breathed.

“So what did you wanna know?” Kody asked.

Baylee bit his lip. He wasn’t sure what to say. He had a million questions running around in his head but he wasn’t sure about asking them. 

After an uncomfortably long awkward silence, Kody finally said, “I was about your age when I figured out I was bi.”

“You were?” Baylee asked, his mouth agape.

Kody nodded. “Yeah. All through high school, I thought I was gay. Had a boyfriend and everything. Our school was very accepting of it. Even prom wasn’t a problem. The problem happened during football season of my senior year. I was a cheerleader and my boo caught me staring at the girls one game. It just kinda spiraled downhill from there. He hated that I was touching them. He accused me of cheating on him. I wasn’t, of course, but he couldn’t move past it.”

“What did you do?”

“Broke up with him,” Kody shrugged. “I spent the better part of that year exactly where you are, my friend. A lot of the time I thought I was going crazy. How could I like both boys and girls? Was there something wrong with me?”

Baylee stared, unblinking. He was wondering the same exact things! 

“I didn’t figure it out until after I graduated,” Kody continued. “I took a trip to the Bay Area. It just so happened it was during Pride. I didn’t know it at the time. But it was so eye-opening. I found a few others who, like myself, liked both males and females. They said nothing was wrong with me. It was perfectly okay to like both genders, all genders, no genders, or people regardless of gender.” He glanced sideways at Bec. “I came out that fall to my family. They had supported me when I came out at fourteen as gay, so to my mom, dad, and sister, this was no different.”

There was a long pause on Kody’s end. Baylee could tell something was bothering him. “Was it hard?” Baylee asked.

The question caught Kody off guard. “To come out?” Baylee nodded. “Not for me. But it’s different for every person. And it’s different each time you do.”

“What do you mean, each time?” Baylee asked.

Kody smiled. “Well, being bi, or any of the other sexualities it encompasses, you’ll likely have partners of varying genders. The problem with that is that some people will make assumptions about your sexuality based on who you are dating. If you’re dating a girl, they’ll think you’re straight. If you’re dating a guy, they’ll think you’re gay. So you essentially have to come out to people all the time.”

“Oh,” Baylee said softly.

“Usually those closest to you will remember,” Bec added. “But those you don’t tell right away, or your partners, you’ll be telling them when you meet them or when the time is right.”

“And telling your partners can be a whole new can of worms,” Kody said.

“What do you mean?” Baylee was curious.

“I don’t mean to scare you, my curious friend,” Kody stated, “but sometimes your partners may not like the fact that you’re bi.”

“Really?” Baylee asked.

“Oh yeah,” Bec said softly. “Just because we are part of the greater LGBT community, doesn’t mean everything is all sunshine and rainbows. The lesbians I’ve dated think I’m going to cheat on them with a guy.”

“And the reverse goes for me,” Kody added. “In fact, most gay guys won’t date a bi boy. I’m not sure why entirely. Maybe it’s the fact that we’ve been with girls. But whatever the reason, it’s hard to date a gay guy.”

“Is that why you and Bec are together?” Baylee instantly blushed and regretted the question from the moment it was out of his mouth.

The pair looked at each other and smiled. Turning back to Baylee, Bec said, “Don’t be embarrassed. This is a safe space. I was actually looking for a femme bi boy. I don’t know why I like the more feminine boys, but I knew what I wanted. I was lucky Kody was looking for a bi girl.”

Kody nodded. “Yeah. I was tired of getting a couple of dates in with guys and being shunned. I decided to try my luck with a girl. The straight girls I had dated thought it was gross that I had been with a guy, so when I saw Bec’s online dating profile, I thought I’d try a bi girl.”

Baylee bit his lip and looked away momentarily. There was a question that was begging to get out, but he didn’t know if he could ask it.

Kody saw his look and said, “Hey there, what’s on your mind?”

Swallowing hard, Baylee summoned the courage to ask what he wanted to know. He finally just spit it out. “Can you be bi if you haven’t been with the other gender?”

“Yes!” Kody and Bec said in unison.

“A lot in the community and the hetero side too will try and tell you that you can’t be, but don’t believe it,” Kody told him. “That’s erasure. You are just as valid as someone who has been with both genders.”

Baylee balked. “But…” he started to say.

“It’s not about sex, Baylee,” Bec said. “It’s about love. Love is love. You love beyond gender. If you want to experience sex with the same gender, that’s up to you. I had one girlfriend back when I thought I was lez. I had one girlfriend when I realized I was bi. Neither of them I had sex with.” She sighed and closed her eyes momentarily. “I’m still bi. Kody will tell you. I still see a hot girl from time to time that turns my head. But I choose to be with Kody.”

“So you’re not…” Baylee couldn’t bring himself to ask it. He wanted to, but it felt so wrong.

“Poly?” Kody asked. Baylee raised his eyebrow, not quite understanding. “Promiscuous?” Baylee blushed. “No. We’re not promiscuous. Bi’s aren’t any more promiscuous than anyone else. We get accused of it a lot.”

Bec leaned onto Kody’s shoulder. “And while yes, there are some polyamorous bi people, that’s not us. We choose to be monogamous with each other. That’s not to say that I wouldn’t let Kody go have a one night stand if he needed to, but we haven’t really talked about it.”

Kody turned towards Bec and said, rather surprised, “You would?”

“Would I get to watch?” Kody’s eyes widened and Bec grinned at him. Baylee blushed crimson and hid his face behind the hand that wasn’t holding his phone.

“Oh, we embarrassed him!” Kody said.

“Baylee,” Bec said, “look at me.” Slowly Baylee peeked through his fingers. “I want you to know something. Your sex life is yours. No one needs to know who you sleep with. And who you date does not change the fact that you may love multiple genders. Do you hear me?” Baylee nodded slowly. “Good. Now, I know it’s late over there, so go get some sleep. Kody and I need to get some sleep as well. We can talk more another time.”

Baylee nodded and they all signed off. Sitting there on the floor, Baylee stretched his legs out. He was tired, but his head was swimming. Slowly climbing up off the floor, he meandered to his room. His thoughts swirled around how Bec had said it didn’t matter who he was dating. He had always thought that because he was dating girls that that meant he was straight. Now he was realizing that those thoughts probably weren’t correct. But then again, guys catching his eye didn’t make him gay either. He sighed as he pushed his door open. Maybe Bec and Kody were right. Maybe it had nothing to do with gender. He didn’t know what it did have to do with.

Sighing, he stumbled across his room to his bed and fell face-first on it. Why did everything have to be so confusing? He knew he loved his girlfriend, but what about these guys that kept popping up and making him wonder… wonder things that part of him felt was entirely wrong. He sighed and slid further up his bed. Turning his head to the side, he squeezed his eyes shut. There were all these images floating around in his head. He tried to force them out as he slowly dozed off.

That night his dreams were beyond confusing. They started with him and his girlfriend on the beach but somehow his girlfriend morphed into the late-night checker at Walmart that had caught his attention. He was tall with dark eyes and wind-swept dark hair. Baylee didn’t mind that they were holding hands. And he enjoyed it when this handsome man pulled him into his arms. He felt his heart racing as this man tipped his head and leaned down slightly. Baylee knew what was coming and he felt himself holding his breath, waiting for the inevitable brush of this man’s lips against his own. But that feeling never came. His eyes snapped open and Baylee stared at the ceiling in the darkness. He fought to catch his breath. Grumbling, he rolled over and grabbed his alarm clock on his bed, tipping it so he could read the time. It said six-thirty. He groaned and rolled over, pulling the pillow over his head and tried to fall back asleep. He really wanted to continue the dream.

He tried for a while to fall back asleep, but for some reason, his brain wouldn't allow him. Realizing his attempts were futile, he rolled out of bed and searched for clothes. He took his time heading to the studio, thankful that his parents were still asleep. He snagged his notebook from its spot on the table, thankful that his father respected his musical privacy. Sighing, he pulled his guitar off the stand, checked that it was in tune, and sat down on the floor. He let his mind wander and jotted lyrics that were completely opposite what he had written two weeks prior about being in love.


	3. Chapter 3

Several weeks later, Baylee was in the gym, his phone up on the tripod, lighting set, and recording equipment set up. He felt good about his song. It was one he’d been working on and just wanted a short recording of it. Nothing actually laid out in the booth, just him playing it. Sighing, he ran through the song for about the billionth time in his head. Deciding he just needed to get it down, he hit record, backed up, and started playing. He only really had a verse and a chorus, but it really summarized his feelings. Smiling as he stopped recording, he slipped his earbuds in and listened to it. The song came out just the way he wanted it to. He played it a second time as he started to clean up the cords and the stands.

As he was heading upstairs and back into the main house, he stopped outside the living room. He could hear his parents talking about something. It took him a minute to catch on.

“You’re still hurt over this…” his mom said. 

“It’s so wrong…” Brian grumbled. Baylee held his breath, waiting.

“I know,” Leighanne stated. “But you can’t control the way people react.”

Brian sighed. “I know that. But it’s our song.” Baylee froze. They were talking about the video, he was pretty sure.

“Oh Husband,” Leighanne whispered. “I understand. But so someone else has found love with that song. Let them.”

“You don’t think it’s wrong?” Baylee could hear the hurt in his father’s voice.

Sighing softly, Leighanne said, “Maybe. They are a male-female couple, so…”

Baylee turned around and headed for the kitchen. He wasn’t sure how to feel at that moment. Finding something to eat, he headed outside. It was raining again so he hung under the patio and watched the rain hit the pool surface. He sat there under the patio for a long time, watching the rain. He hadn’t even realized that he was getting cold until his mom had come out with a blanket.

“Baby, it’s freezing out here.” She placed the blanket around him. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” Baylee said, pulling the blanket tighter around him. “Is Dad really upset about that video?”

Sitting down, Leighanne grabbed her son’s hands. “Not really, no. But you know how special that song is to us, to your father.” Baylee nodded. “I think he’s just torn, that’s all.”

“About what?”

Pursing her lips, Leighanne sighed. “It’s garnering a lot of attention, or at least it was.”

“How is that a bad thing?”

Smiling softly, Leighanne brushed her hair off her shoulder. “You know your father. He doesn’t like to ruffle feathers, but he’s very passionate about things. He doesn’t want people thinking the wrong thing.”

“Like what?” Baylee asked.

Leighanne released her son’s hands and stood up. “Don’t worry about it, Bubba. It was a long time ago. You were young.” Leighanne walked away, leaving Baylee to wonder what she had meant. He spent a while longer outside before he got so chilled he needed to head inside to warm up.

Inside, his dad was pouring warm water from a teakettle into a mug. Baylee didn’t notice right away that there were two mugs there. Sliding one across the counter to Baylee, Brian smiled at his son. “Figured you might need this,” he said.

Baylee smiled weakly and wrapped his cold hands around the warm mug. “Thanks,” he mumbled, letting the heat slowly warm him.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Brian tried, hoping his son would speak.

Baylee shrugged, taking a sip of his hot chocolate. “Eh, just thinking, that’s all.” He took another drink, feeling the heat radiate down his throat. Sighing, he looked up into his father’s crystal blue eyes. “Does that video really upset you?”

Brian shrugged. “Some, I guess,” he admitted. “I mean, you’ve heard the story…”

Baylee rolled his eyes. “Yeah, that’s the video you met Mom on… I know. But why is it upsetting? It’s not because it was covered was it?”

Brian smiled and took a drink before answering. “No. I’ve known about that cover for a while. Anthem Lights did a really good job on it.” He took another drink before continuing. “No, it’s just… well, I don’t know how to put it.”

“Is that why your phone was going off that day? Because they wanted to make sure you were okay with it being a bi couple?”

Brian tried to hide his discomfort at the turn of the conversation. Licking his lips, he answered, “Essentially. Nick was the one who found the video when it first hit, several months ago now. We kind of dismissed it at the time. No one expected it to go viral.”

Baylee stared at his near-empty mug. His emotions were a jumble. Taking a deep breath, he followed with, “Does it matter that they’re bi?”

Brian froze. The answer to that question was _so_ complicated. Blowing a slow breath, he said, “It’s not entirely that…” He couldn’t figure out what else to say and let the statement hang for a while. “It’s just their lifestyle is garnering so much attention by it. And having the song associated with it, well, it just feels… weird.” Brian finished his hot chocolate and placed his mug in the sink. “Look, Bubs, why don’t you go take a hot shower and warm up. You were out there for a long time.” 

Brian stepped away and headed towards an area of the house he felt safe in. He didn’t wait to see if his son took his advice. Reaching the hallway he wanted to retreat to, he stopped at the far end and sank down against the wall until he was sitting on the floor. He tried to control his breathing, slow his racing heart. He stared down the hallway at all the accolades hanging on the wall. If they only knew…

* * *

Two nights later, Baylee sat in his room, leaning against his pillows. He was waiting for the familiar ping from Zoom. Tonight, both Bec and Kody would be joining separately, though Baylee wasn’t sure why. He had been messaging Kody a bunch lately. And thankfully, Kody hadn’t been too over the top and had answered his unusual questions about the stereotypes he was reading about. “Don’t worry about the stereotypes,” Kody had told him. “Yes, you will see them and we like to poke fun at ourselves. But you be you and don’t worry about if you are ‘bi enough.’ It’s just all in fun.”

As his Zoom pinged, he looked down at his phone. Bec was in her room and Kody seemed to be in the living room. He had thought they lived together, but seeing the decor, he could tell that that probably wasn’t the case.

“So what’s on your mind?” Kody asked.

Baylee swallowed and adjusted his earbuds. “Well, it’s kinda strange,” he said.

Kody smiled. “In case you haven’t noticed, I live for strange!” 

Bec laughed in her window. “That is true,” she added. Baylee’s attention was drawn to her as she snuggled down into her bed.

Heaving a great sigh, Baylee mustered the courage and finally spit out, “Could this be a phase?” Before either of them could answer, he continued. “I mean, I know it’s said that being bi isn’t a phase and all, but could it be? I mean, aren’t there people who say they are bi but then later come out as gay or lesbian?”

“Well,” Bec started, “a lot of people will tell you it’s a phase. That you need to choose one or the other. But it’s not and you don’t.”

Kody leaned back on his sofa and said, “The reason people think it’s a phase is because there are some people who it actually _is_ a phase for. Whether they do it for attention or they truly are just questioning or they are doing it to still try and appease others, I don’t know. But there are some people who being bi is like a passing thing. It’s sad, but they do us a huge disservice.”

“Just like the ones who come out as bi for attention,” Bec added.

“People do that?” Baylee asked incredulously.

Kody nodded slowly. “Yeah, there’s been a few ‘celebs’, and I use that term loosely here, who have come out as bi and later said they weren’t. I sometimes feel like it sets us back when that happens.” Baylee swallowed hard and Kody saw it. “Hey, don’t let that get you down, Bud. I’m not saying you’re gonna do that to do us. I’ve spent enough time talking to you. I know you are questioning things and figuring things out.”

Baylee sighed. “Some days it’s so hard…” he started to say but stopped himself.

“What do you mean?” Bec asked.

Biting his lip, Baylee said, “Sometimes, when I’m out with my girlfriend and I see a cute guy…” His voice trailed off again.

Kody nodded. “You get all flustered…” Baylee nodded. Kody leaned forward some. “Listen here, Bay. If you like both boys and girls you’re bi. It doesn’t matter if you like one more than the other or are attracted to one gender more than the other.”

“But I love my girlfriend,” Baylee countered. “How can I love her and yet keep having all these fleeting thoughts about guys?”

“Look,” Kody continued, “I know you’re confused right now and you’re questioning everything. That’s a perfectly fine place to be. But it’s not a phase. Not by what you’ve told me. Whether you realize it now or years down the road, it’s not a big deal. At some point, you will come to realize that your sexual identity falls somewhere under the bi umbrella.” Kody sighed, “Look Bay, why don’t you come meet us this weekend.”

“This weekend?” Baylee’s head spun. He could maybe get a flight out to California but what would he tell his parents?

“Yeah, it’s Pride weekend there in Atlanta,” Bec added.

“It is?” Baylee leaned back thoroughly confused.

“Yeah!” Kody exclaimed. “We’ve been invited to come out there this weekend.”

“That’s why we’re not together right now,” Bec said. “Yeah, it seems like we might live together, but we don’t. Sometimes I think we should. We fly out together this Friday morning.”

Baylee shook his head. “So, wait, you’re coming here?”

“Yes, Stud!” Kody said, causing Baylee to blush at the term. “We’ll be out there the whole weekend and would love for you to come join us.”

“But… but…” His brain couldn’t comprehend attending Pride. What if someone saw him? What if pictures popped up of him there? What if people made the wrong assumptions?

Bec smiled at him. “If any pictures surface or anyone asks, just say you’re an ally. All kinds of people attend Pride; gay, straight, trans, and everyone in between.” Baylee relaxed and Bec continued, “Besides, we really wanna meet you.”

“Come on, Stud,” Kody prompted. “It’ll be fun.”

Baylee sighed and watched as Bec yawned. “I’ll think about it,” he said. “I should probably let you go. It looks like Bec is about ready to fall asleep.”

Bec nodded, said goodnight, and left the meeting, leaving Baylee and Kody alone in the video conference. “I’ll message you where we’re staying,” Kody said. Baylee nodded. “There’s a ton of stuff planned, but I have an idea of something you might like.”

Baylee raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

“Yeah, I’ll send it to you. Goodnight, my friend.” Kody left and Baylee shut down things. Sighing, he glanced around his room. It was Tuesday. He only had a few days to figure out what he was doing. Before he slid down underneath his sheets, he heard his phone ping and saw the message from Kody with the name of the hotel they were staying at. Doing a quick Google search, Baylee found that it was smack dab in the middle of events happening that very weekend. He sighed again before reaching over and turning out his light.


	4. Chapter 4

Friday afternoon, Baylee was staring at the message Kody had sent him. He still was on the fence about the next evening. Apparently, there was an event that they really wanted him to attend that next night. There were a couple of issues with it though. The first of which was his parents. Not that he needed their permission to go out anymore, but he at least liked to tell them, in case something happened. The second issue he had was with his girlfriend. She wanted to go out, but he’d yet to make plans.

He still wasn’t sure if this was the right thing to do. He knew he wasn’t stepping out of his closet by going to Pride, but it sure felt monumental to be going and he wasn’t sure why. And he wasn’t even sure if he was going. That night when his girlfriend texted about going out the next night, he said he already had made plans with friends. He stuck to a partial truth because it was true in a way. He wanted to go out with Bec and Kody.

The next day, he was on edge. As he headed downstairs that evening, he told his parents he was going out with friends. He had agonized over what to wear and decided simply on jeans and a button-down shirt. His dad gave him a hard time when he saw him, but Baylee brushed him off, saying he really wasn’t going out with his girlfriend.

He parked at the hotel Kody and Bec were staying at and consulted his phone for the room number. Heading upstairs, he double-checked the text message before heading down the hallway. Knocking on the door, he was surprised to see Kody and Bec answer together. He was surprised to see Kody’s hair tipped in pink and Bec’s tipped in blue.

“Baylee! You made it!” Kody greeted him, pulling him into an awkward hug before dragging him into the hotel room. “Check out the shirts we had made for the occasion!” Kody stepped back next to Bec and they waited a minute for Baylee to read their shirts.

Baylee got a confused look on his face. “Bicon?” he read.

“Bi icon?” Kody prompted.

Baylee shook his head and Bec took pity on him. She grabbed his hands in hers and said, “It’s an icon who’s bi, and happens to be out.” Baylee nodded slowly taking in the word again and the pink, purple, and blue colors as well.

“So what’s the plan for tonight?” Baylee asked, changing the subject.

“Are you ready to go?” Bec asked Kody who was straightening his hair in the mirror. “I’ll tell you as we walk because we have a couple of blocks to get there.” Baylee nodded as Kody stepped out of the space where the mirror above the sink was. Baylee’s mouth went dry as he saw Kody again, dark hair standing up with pink on the tips and the shirt hanging perfectly down his body. He followed the pair out of the room and down the hall. Once they were outside, Baylee found himself sandwiched between the pair. Bec started talking as they moved. “So they call this ‘Bicon Karaoke.’ It’s just like regular karaoke, except there’s a couple of rules. Every song either has to be done by a bisexual or pan artist.”

“You’re gonna hear a lot of GaGa and Panic,” Kody added.

Bec nodded. “Or the song has to have no pronouns.”

Baylee shrugged as they waited for a stoplight to change. “Doesn’t seem hard.”

“Oh, and one other thing,” Kody added as the light changed. “These are our people. They are other people who are out or identify as bi.” Baylee flushed. “But don’t stress it. It’s not like they’re checking for your bi card at the door.”

Baylee tried to relax as they approached the club. They were checking IDs, but mainly to give wristbands to those over twenty-one. Baylee was surprised when Kody didn’t get an orange wristband like Bec did. Kody shrugged. “My birthday’s next month,” he offered as a way of explanation.

The music was already blaring a Queen song from the next room when Bec leaned over and said in Baylee’s ear, “I told you, I wanted a femme bi boy.” Baylee glanced sideways as the trio found a table. There they spent the night listening to bad renditions of Lady Gaga or Panic at the Disco with some Miley Cyrus thrown in there and plenty of Queen. They laughed and cheered. 

Finally, the songbook arrived at their table and Baylee flipped through it. Bec was busy cheering on a girl doing “Poker Face,” when Baylee found the song he wanted. He elbowed Kody. “Do it with me?” he said. “It’s like two parts, essentially, but not my range.”

Kody stared at him a minute after reading the song. “Really? Your range?”

Baylee smiled. “You’ll see.”

Kody shook his head slowly as he stood up. “Okay, but I suck at these things.”

Baylee shrugged as Kody poked Bec and pointed at himself before pointing at the stage. Bec nodded and as Baylee led Kody up there, he said into his ear, “Don’t worry. I got you. It’s not the easiest song.”

Kody stared at Baylee as he accepted the microphone from the person running the show. “What?” Kody balked.

Baylee took his own microphone as the girl on stage finished. “Just sing the first verse and the choruses. You _know_ this song.”

The pair took the stage and Bec hollered for them. Kody glanced sideways at Baylee as the words appeared on the screen. It took him a minute to catch the melody but he was glad when Baylee joined in with him in the background. Baylee commanded the stage and Kody was just stunned at how within a verse, Baylee had everyone’s attention and the cheering started. As they finished the song and the room erupted, Kody looked at Baylee. “How’d you do that?”

Baylee shrugged. “You know my dad. Guess it rubbed off.”

Kody followed him to the table. “No, Man, you _looked_ like your dad up there. We were up front the last time we saw them. And you seriously looked like your dad on that stage.”

Baylee shrugged and grinned as he sat down. “Genes, I guess…”

“Why’d you pick that song?” Bec asked leaning over as the next person got up on the small stage.

“Because I figured you need yet one more cover of it,” Baylee replied. Bec rolled her eyes. “Plus it fit the rules.”

“Well you did amazing,” she told him. “You too,” she said, kissing Kody’s cheek. “I’m sure there’s plenty of videos out there.”

Baylee groaned but decided he might share the videos in his stories if he found them.

A short while later, the trio headed back to the hotel. They were laughing at some of the performances and generally saying that Baylee had won the night. Baylee felt really good leaving the karaoke bar. He had seen a lot of different people and so many of them looked normal. He never would have guessed that some of them were bi. He felt extremely comfortable walking next to Kody, even though Kody was still making his heart race even after spending the evening together.

When they arrived back at the hotel and headed upstairs to the room, Baylee was glad he didn’t feel like a third wheel and left out. When they got into the small hotel room, Bec pulled out a bottle of sparkling cider and started pouring for the three of them. They talked and laughed and finally, Baylee noticed the time. Bec was yawning and it was about midnight. He knew the time change was hard, he’d done it enough.

“I, uh, should probably get going,” Baylee said, standing up. 

Kody got up with him and walked him towards the door. “Thanks for comin’ out with us,” he said.

Baylee stood there, looking at Kody. All of a sudden things felt awkward. He stared into Kody’s dark eyes, glanced up at his pink-tipped hair. Everything in him was fighting what he wanted to do. They both had girlfriends. Kody’s was _in the room_ with them. And yet, Baylee felt his body react almost as if on instinct. Without any other thought beyond his brain screaming at him, he leaned over and kissed Kody on the mouth.


	5. Chapter 5

Baylee froze as he slowly pulled back from Kody. His brain told him to run, but his eyes were processing something different. Kody didn’t look mad at him. He looked a little shocked, but not upset. And in the next heartbeat, Kody’s hands were on Baylee’s cheeks and his lips were once again pressed to Baylee’s. The kiss wasn’t tentative like Baylee’s had been. It was strong, but not forceful. After the shock wore off, Baylee relaxed into Kody’s soft lips and slid his hands to the other man’s hips. After a moment, Kody pulled back and held Baylee there. “How long have you been wanting to do that?” he asked breathlessly.

“Since the first time we talked,” Baylee admitted, glancing down.

Kody lifted Baylee’s face and gently pressed his lips to the blonde boy’s one more time before whispering, “Me too.”

“You have?” Kody closed his eyes and nodded. “But…”

“He talks about you constantly,” Bec said from the bed.

“He does?” Baylee asked, turning to look at Bec. He looked back at Kody. “You do?” Kody blushed and ducked his head.

Bec rolled her eyes. “I swear, if I hear one more ‘If only…’ from him. ‘If only he’d figure it out...’ ‘If only he didn’t live so far away…’ You should’ve heard him the night I told him that I’d let him have a one night stand.” She paused and looked at the two boys. “If you need some time, I’ll go down to Kenzie’s room,” she offered.

“No. No, that’s okay,” Kody finally said. 

Bec stood up and walked over to the two young men. “I’m going for junk food,” she said casually. “I’ll be back in a while.” She grabbed her purse and slung it across her body before walking by the two. “Remember what I told you,” she said in Kody’s ear, kissing him on the cheek quickly before walking out the door.

As the door closed, Baylee looked at Kody, “What did she tell you?”

Kody gently pulled himself away from Baylee and walked over to the bed, sitting down on it. Baylee followed him sitting as close to him as he dared. “That as long as I didn’t get hurt…” Kody paused. “No. That if I found love elsewhere, she’d let me go, as long as I didn’t get hurt in the process.” He sighed and looked back at Baylee. He placed his hand on Baylee’s knee and when the blonde didn’t flinch, he continued. “I know you’re not there. You’re in love with someone else and this is just a huge crush on both our parts.” Kody’s hand slid a little further up Baylee’s thigh. “But if you did want to…” he blushed. “You know…” Kody swallowed and Baylee realized how difficult this was for him.

Oddly, at that moment, Baylee was incredibly calm. His heart was thudding in his chest, but he didn’t have any anxiety about being alone with Kody. “Why?”

“Why what?” Kody asked, surprised at the question.

“Why me?”

Kody inched closer so that their shoulders were touching. “I told you dating was hard, right? Especially being a bi boy. And when Bec told me you had contacted her, I nearly lost it. I have crushed over you hard since Bec introduced me to your dad’s music when we started dating. And when I found out we were close in age, well…” he shrugged.

“You wanted me?” Baylee asked.

“Well, yeah… but…” Kody closed his eyes.

Baylee took the moment that he had his eyes closed and kissed Kody again. Baylee wasn’t sure what was coming over him, but he let his body lead. He pulled Kody closer to him, wanting to feel his body next to his. He slid his arm around Kody’s waist and pulled him next to him. Kody’s hand moved across Baylee’s leg while their lips stayed together for a moment more. Slowly Baylee moved his mouth to Kody’s neck and began kissing on the warm skin he found there. Kody moaned and slipped a hand to Baylee’s head, his fingers moving between Baylee’s curls.

Slipping his hand beneath the hem of Kody’s shirt, Baylee took a breath before moving his hand. His fingers hesitantly grazed Kody’s skin. Kody sighed and Baylee looked at him before sliding his hand fully onto Kody’s back. “Baylee,” Kody breathed, his hand slipping further up Baylee’s leg.

“Hm?” Baylee asked against Kody’s neck.

Kody’s hand grazed Baylee’s hip. “You okay with this?”

Baylee pushed his hand further up Kody’s back. “Are you okay?”

Groaning, Kody leaned back into Baylee’s hand. “Oh, Baylee,” he whispered. His fingers twitched on Baylee’s hip and Baylee shifted his weight underneath him.

“Kody,” Baylee whined, pulling his lips just a millimeter away from the other man’s skin. He blushed when he realized what his slight movement had done to Kody’s hand. Kody bit his lip as his thumb twitched over the slight bludge in Baylee’s lap. They looked at each other, Baylee’s fingers slowly moving on Kody’s skin. Kody’s hand stayed still, but they stared at each other, daring the other to make the next move.

Baylee slipped his hand around to graze along Kody’s chest, his fingers trembling as he did so. Baylee sighed, his lips tracing along Kody’s jawline before finding his mouth again. Kody’s hand slipped further over Baylee and the younger man groaned into Kody’s mouth. “Does this answer some questions?” he mumbled into Baylee’s mouth, their tongues gently touching.

Pulling back from Kody’s mouth and pausing in his exploration of his skin, Baylee looked at Kody for a moment. “Yeah,” he whispered. It took him but a moment to decide what he wanted to do next. Baylee reached over and slipped both hands under Kody’s shirt, pushing it up his body before Kody raised his hands and Baylee slid the material off of him. He casually tossed the shirt to the side. He looked at Kody, who stared back unmoving. Carefully, Baylee reached out and touched Kody’s tan skin. Kody sighed as Baylee’s hands more firmly slid onto his chest. Baylee carefully pushed Kody back onto the bed, his mouth slipping to the man’s neck as he did so.

After a moment of awkwardness with their lower halves dangling off the bed, Kody shimmied his way up a little further on the bed and Baylee easily went with him. Kody’s hands slipped around the boy’s back and roamed over the material as Baylee continued to kiss on Kody’s neck and shoulders.

The first deft touch over Baylee’s jeans made him freeze. Kody froze too, thinking he had done something wrong. It was in that frozen moment that Baylee realized things were different. He could feel himself pressing against the material of his jeans but at the same time, he could feel more right next to him. It was an unusual sensation. Kody slipped his hands to Baylee’s hips and held them there. “You okay?” he asked.

Baylee nodded and went back to exploring Kody’s skin with his mouth, trailing his tongue along his shoulder. Kody slid his hands around to the middle of Baylee’s back. One slowly slid up under his shirt, the other again slowly grazed down onto Baylee’s jeans. This time, Baylee didn’t pause and Kody continued with his gentle touches, slowly adding more pressure each time he moved his hand, waiting for a signal from the man on top of him that it was too much. As Kody finally gripped Baylee’s backside, he got the reaction he was wanting of Baylee pressing his body into his. Both boys moaned at the contact. “Kody…” Baylee finally gasped.

Kody took the second to roll over with Baylee, pinning him to the bed, his knee slipping between his legs and holding him there. Kody pushed Baylee’s blonde curls off his forehead before tracing down his jawline. His fingers danced down to the first button on Baylee’s shirt and undid it. “You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for this,” he said huskily. He slipped down and undid the next button, his mouth going for the skin he found underneath. As Kody continued his slow torture, Baylee writhed underneath his mouth. By the time Kody had Baylee’s shirt completely open and undone, the blonde was panting. Pulling his mouth away from Baylee’s navel, Kody leaned back. He ran a hand down Baylee’s bare chest, stopping at the waistband of Baylee’s jeans. He paused before slipping his fingers over the material.

Baylee’s hand was on top of his in a moment. “Wait,” Baylee breathed. “We can’t…”

Kody’s face fell as he moved his hand up just enough so that he wasn’t hovering over Baylee’s jeans. “I know…” he said softly, running his fingers over Baylee’s skin.

“When do you leave?” Baylee asked, running his hand down the back of Kody’s head, knowing his hair was too stiff to play with.

“The day after tomorrow.”

“Plans?”

Kody traced his hand up Baylee’s chest. “Just a drop in at the Bi Booth in the vendor section tomorrow afternoon. Why?”

Baylee sighed. “I dunno. I just wanna hang with you. That’s all.”

Kody smiled. “Sure,” he replied.

They both jumped as they heard the door open. Baylee sat up ad hastily tried to redo the buttons on his shirt, failing miserably as Bec walked in with a bag of Cheetos and a Diet Coke in her hand. She smirked at Kody. “Had fun?” Kody just stared at her. “You may want to help young one over there. I think I scared him so bad he forgot how to do buttons.”

Baylee blushed a deep crimson and stood up with Kody. Kody glanced at him and laughed. “Here, Stud lemme help.” Baylee felt his ears burning as Kody undid the mess of buttons and redid them. He then reached for his shirt on the floor.

“I, uh, should probably get going,” Baylee said. “It’s late.”

Kody leaned over and pulled the younger man into a hug. “I hope I cleared some things up for you,” he said in his ear.

Baylee nodded. “Yeah.”

“I’ll text you tomorrow…” Kody glanced at the clock. “Okay, later today, about where we’ll be.” Baylee nodded again and blushed as Kody kissed his cheek. “Thanks for making my trip,” Kody whispered so Bec couldn’t hear.

Baylee smiled and pulled away, waving at Bec as he headed to the door. He practically raced to his truck, feeling light but on edge at the same time. Climbing inside the cab, he slammed the door and locked it. He gripped the steering wheel and tried to get his breathing to slow down. His heart was racing. He’d never imagined that he would end up making out with Kody. It did answer some questions and cleared some things up in his head. He knew now that he truly was attracted to both genders. Now he had to figure out what to do with that information.


	6. Chapter 6

Early the next afternoon, Baylee awoke in his bed sweat-soaked and damp. He wasn’t sure what he was dreaming, but when he crawled into the shower a few minutes later, he was sure it had had something to do with Kody. He hadn’t had that hard of a wet dream in ages and he was anxious to rinse all the evidence away. Stepping out of the shower he attempted to dry his hair and get it to do something, but gave up and let the curls be frizzy and uncontrolled. He tried to dress casually yet decently since he would likely be seen in public. That thought reminded him that he _had_ been out the night before and had inadvertently given an impromptu mini-concert. Opening his Instagram, he found that there were about a dozen short videos of him from the night before. Taking his time, he added each one to his story and then finally checked his messages.

Seeing Kody’s handle in his DMs made his heart skip a beat. “Hey Stud. Gonna be hanging 2-4 here. Hope to see ya!”

Baylee glanced at the time on his phone and saw it was just after one. He jumped up and raced downstairs, waving at his parents saying he was going out and he’d be back later.

Leighanne looked at her husband across the small kitchen table as her son raced out of the house. “Did you see his post just now?” she said to her husband. Brian shook his head and Leighanne pulled up Baylee’s Instagram stories on her phone.

Brian swallowed hard at the second video he saw in Baylee’s story. Baylee had obviously gone out to a karaoke bar. The second story had a note on the side saying, “Best Pride Eva!” The person had tagged Baylee in the post saying it was a mini-concert. The next one had rainbow flags around it. Baylee was singing parts of “As Long As You Love Me” with another boy. The young man obviously was a novice and there for the fun of it. Brian sighed and handed the phone back to his wife. “Well, we obviously know what friends he’s been hanging around with.”

Leighanne scrolled her phone quickly and then looked at her husband. “I thought that couple lived in California…” she stated.

“That’s what Alex said,” Brian replied.

“Well, it’s obviously the male of the couple, Kody, I think, who‘s singing with Bay. He’s been tagged a couple of times.” Leighanne sighed and put her phone down. “You look worried, Husband.”

Brian put his chin in his hand and looked at his wife. “This is just a little too close for comfort.” He closed his eyes and sighed. “What if he starts asking questions?”

“Then you answer them,” she said. “He’s gonna find out eventually, Bri. You know that.”

Brian sighed again. “I know,” he replied.

* * *

It took Baylee a little while to find a parking spot. When he finally did, he sent a text to Kody asking where they were at. It was a little after two and he knew they were supposed to be somewhere at that time. Baylee wandered for a while until he got the text from Kody. It was more of a selfie than exact directions. He and Bec were in front of a pink, purple, and blue flag. Baylee grinned as he wandered the pop-up tents and tables lining the street. He began looking in earnest for the flag Kody and Bec were in front of. Baylee was glad he had remembered his sunglasses because as he approached the booth where Kody and Bec were, he noticed a throng of people around it. He was afraid he’d get recognized as he pushed his way through the people, trying to get through to the pair.

Baylee managed to get up near Bec and tap her on the shoulder. She smiled at him and pulled him near as Kody was busy taking selfies with other people. “It’s been like this since we got here,” Bec whispered. “Someone shared a video of last night on one of the Discords and all of a sudden, Kody’s Web-Famous.”

Baylee glanced at Kody. He was actually handling it all fairly well. The crowd was growing smaller. “Want me to jump in and help?”

Bec stared at him. “Would you?”

Baylee grinned. “Sure.” He stepped away from Bec and slid up next to Kody. The few of the people closest to him froze, their eyes wide. “Hey, y’all!” Baylee drawled. “I know you love my friend Kody here, but lemme make your day. How ‘bout five minutes of the both of us and the I have to go steal him away for a bit, okay?” He slipped his arm around Kody’s waist and grinned as the cameras went crazy for a minute. After another minute of cameras, sharpies started being thrust at Baylee. He smiled and signed what was passed to him for a bit before finally saying loudly, “Okay, y’all. We really need to get going right now.” The crowd groaned, but slowly backed up as Baylee pulled Kody back further behind the table.

“Thanks,” Kody whispered.

Baylee shrugged. “No big. I learned a lot from my dad and his handlers growing up.”

“Com’on,” Kody said, pulling Baylee behind the pop up to the sidewalk where Bec was waiting. “Let’s get outta here.” Bec grinned and slid her arm around Kody’s waist. Kody was grinning with Bec on one side and Baylee on the other. “So glad you made it,” Kody said.

“Looks like it. What was that all about?”

Kody shrugged. “Have you checked all your tags this morning? We’re all over The Gram.”

Baylee nodded. “I saw.”

“It’s like worse than the vid, Bay,” Kody continued.

Baylee shrugged. “It’ll die down. So you two…” He didn’t know what he wanted to say, but it hung there between them.

“Yeah,” Bec said as they turned a corner and got away from the crowds. “We talked. He told me what happened. I’m fine with it, really.”

Baylee nodded. “About that, well…” He ran a hand over his hair as they approached a storefront. “See, well…”

Kody smiled warmly at him as they stopped walking. “What is it?”

Baylee ducked his head and mumbled at the ground, “I realized last night that I really do like guys…” He paused and added, “and girls.” Bec and Kody engulfed him in a hug.

“Oh, Baylee!” Bec squealed in his ear.

Baylee smiled at their elation. He kinda figured this was going to be the easy one. He remembered Kody saying that every time he came out to someone was going to be different. Kody dropped his arm around Baylee’s shoulder. “How do you feel?” he asked.

Baylee blinked. “Surprisingly… good,” he replied.

The trio started to walk back towards the crowded streets when both Kody and Baylee’s phones pinged. Reaching in their pockets for their phones, they pulled them out and unlocked them. Looking down at his phone, Baylee groaned. He had about ten more tags on Instagram. Swiping the app open, he closed his eyes when he saw the first photo. It was himself and Kody against the bi pride flag. He pinched the bridge of his nose as his phone rang in his hand. Glancing at the number, he sighed and answered it, knowing it was his girlfriend. “Hello?” he answered hesitantly.

“Baylee?”

“Yes,” he replied, inwardly cringing at the tone of his girlfriend’s voice.

“Look,” she started, “I don’t know what you’re doing down there at Pride, but I can’t do this. Not if this is who you are and who you are going to hang out with.”

“What?” Baylee asked in disbelief.

“I mean, come on,” she said. “We’ve seen it coming the past few months. You keep avoiding me. You’re looking at other people. I know you’re not interested in me anymore.”

“Are you breaking up with me?” he finally asked after a moment of silence.

“Go be with that guy you were with last night!” she called.

“It’s not like that!” he said, but to no avail, because the line was dead. She had hung up on him. Baylee stared at his phone before glancing up at Kody and Bec. “Um, guys, I think I need to go.”

Bec nodded and Kody said, “Is the cat out of the bag now?”

Baylee closed his eyes. “This is about to blow up and not in a good way,” he said. He turned and headed for his truck. “I’ll call ya later,” he called as he walked quickly to where his truck was parked.

Racing home, Baylee’s phone pinged almost constantly. He had to talk to his parents. The fact that his girlfriend had just broken up with him wasn’t even really registering. As he pulled into the garage at home, his heart was racing. This wasn’t exactly how he had planned to tell his parents or everyone else for that matter. Walking into the kitchen, he was met by his mom, his dad was sitting at the table with a mug between his hands. “Is there something wrong?” his mom asked.

Glancing at his father’s features and the way he was slumped in the chair, he knew they knew something. “Um, have you guys checked the socials?” he asked.

“Not since you posted earlier, why?” his mom asked.

Baylee sighed and dropped down into a chair across from his father. “I, uh, kinda did something stupid,” he admitted looking down at the table as his phone pinged yet again in his pocket. He pulled out the rectangular object, slid it open, and opened the app that was alerting on his phone. His mom came and sat down next to him. Baylee scrolled the tagged photos and eventually stopped on one. He turned his phone and showed his parents. “I, uh… well.” Baylee didn’t get the reaction he expected from the photo. His dad buried his face in his hands and his mother stared at him.

“What happened?” his mom finally asked after a moment of silence.

“Um, well, I walked up to see Kody, because we had gone out together the night before with his girlfriend and there’s video…”

“Yeah, we saw,” his mom said quietly.

Baylee ran a hand through his blonde curls. “Well, I guess it blew up overnight and when I walked up, he was swamped with people. He was drowning and I could tell he wanted out.”

Leighanne nodded and picked up her phone beside her. “So you jumped in, figuring you’d take some of the heat off.”

Baylee nodded. “Yeah. Only, I forgot where I was and what was in the background.” He bowed his head as his mom looked at her phone and quickly searched her son and the hashtag that had been used earlier.

Leighanne quickly swiped on the photostream and read captions and comments. “Oh, Bay, most of these aren’t bad. There’s a few, but if it doesn’t blow over in a bit, a simple video from you could fix it all.”

Baylee looked at his dad, who surprisingly hadn’t said a word. His father sat there sipping his tea, which confused Baylee. He knew his dad wasn’t recording or anything. There wasn’t a performance coming up. He only drank tea when he was preparing for singing or he was stressed about something, to help his voice and his throat. 

Baylee sighed. His elation from the evening before and even the moments before his girlfriend had called was slowly slipping away, along with it his nerve. “What if I don’t wanna fix it?” he asked quietly.

“What do you mean, you don’t want to fix it?” his mom asked, setting her phone down.

“Well, what if it’s true? Or partially true?” he asked, not bothering to look at anyone.

“Do you have something to tell us, Baylee?” his mother asked him.

Heaving a breath, Baylee blurted, “I’m bi.” Baylee didn’t get the reaction he expected. Both his parents were silent. His dad picked his head up and stared at him. He watched as his dad exchanged looks with his mom.

His mom sighed. She finally said to her husband, “Just tell him. He deserves to know.”

“Know what?”

Brian took a slow drink of his tea. Looking directly at his son, he said softly, “I am too.”

“What?” Baylee asked.

“I’m bi too,” Brian repeated.

Baylee stared at his dad. “But…” He couldn’t quite wrap his mind around what his dad had just said. “Your…” He stared at his dad who nodded. “But… Mom…” He glanced at his mother. “She knew?” His mom nodded slowly. Baylee stood up and backed away from the table. He wasn’t sure what was more shocking: that his dad was bi or that his mom knew. He sprinted from the kitchen hearing the chairs scrape the floor. He hoped they wouldn’t follow him. He just wanted a minute to think.


	7. Chapter 7

Brian went to move after his son, but his wife put her hand on his arm. “Let him be for a minute, Husband.” Brian glanced at her. “It’s a lot to take in,” she said softly.

Looking at his wife, Brian sighed. “I shouldn’t have told him.”

“Yes, you should have. He needed to know. He just doesn’t understand right now. Go tell him. He’s probably got a million questions.”

Brian looked at his wife again and nodded. He knew exactly where to find his son. It was the same place he would go to think. It took him a little bit to get there, but standing at the end of the long hallway, he saw his son sitting on the floor about halfway down it. Baylee’s head was down and his hands were on his knees. Brian sighed and slowly walked towards him. He knew his son was lost in thought when he didn’t move as Brian sat down across the hallway from him.

They sat in silence for a long time. Finally, Baylee picked up his head and looked at his father. “I don’t understand,” he whispered.

“What don’t you understand?” Brian asked softly.

Baylee sighed. “How can you be bi? You’ve been married to mom for twenty years.”

Brian smiled slightly and slid over a bit so he was almost directly in front of his son. “I know you’ve probably just figured it out, but love is love. You don’t have to act on that love to love others.” Brian bowed his head. “I figured it out sometime after I joined the group. Probably around the time we were in Germany or something. But things were different then,” he said. He sighed and tipped his head down. “It wasn’t widely accepted that you could love both men and women.”

Baylee stared at his father. “You love Uncle Nick,” he said quietly.

Brian nodded. “It’s obvious now, isn’t it?”

“That cruise video…” Baylee whispered.

Smiling, Brian nodded again. “You have no idea how hard it was to not tell you when you found that video.” He closed his eyes. “We’ve never acted on it and thankfully Nick is so comfortable with it now, but it wasn’t always that way. I told him after I married your mother. It was one of the many reasons we didn’t talk for so long. But he came around.”

“Is Nick…”

Brian shook his head. “No. He’s straight as an arrow. He just plays around with all of us so no one catches on about me. But he knows I love him.”

“But what about Mom?” Baylee was still trying to process the revelation about his uncle. And yet his mom knew about his dad and that made him feel even more uncomfortable.

Shrugging, Brian replied, “I told her before we got married.”

“She doesn’t care that you’re in love with Uncle Nick?” Baylee didn’t mean for it to come out so harsh as the statement did.

Sighing, Brain wanted to lean forward but opted not to. “She knows I love Nick, but she also knows that I chose to be with her for the rest of my life. See, Baylee,” he continued, tipping his head back onto the wall, “just because I married your mother and I’ve chosen to be with her doesn’t take away the fact that I’m bi. Yes, I still love Nick. But our relationship has grown. One of the reasons Nick and I didn’t talk for so long after your mother and I got married was out of respect for the relationship I had chosen. Honestly, your mother struggled with Nick and I, and him being away from me for so long allowed all three of us to understand where we all stood.”

Baylee pursed his lips. “Then why are you still married to Mom if you love Nick?” he spat.

Brian closed his eyes and took a breath. He didn’t want to get mad at his son. “It’s complicated, Baylee. I’m sure you’ve seen that over the past few months. Trying to have a girlfriend and still seeing guys who turn your head.”

Baylee scoffed. “Guess I don’t have to worry about that anymore. She broke up with me earlier.”

“I’m sorry, Bubs,” Brian said quietly. “Why?”

Baylee rolled his eyes. “It’s stupid really. Because of last night. Because of today.”

“I’m sorry,” he repeated. “But you will come across that. Those people will likely never understand you. It’s part of the reason why I’ve never been out about myself. The fellas know, your mom knows, you know, but very few others do.”

“But things are different now, Dad. There’s plenty of celebs who are out.”

Brian sighed. “I know. But it just wouldn’t be… right. It wouldn’t be fair… not to your mother or to Nick. And besides, I’m fine with it.” 

Baylee bit his lip and looked over at his father. It was strange to see him like this. He had never questioned his father’s love for his mother. He had seen his father playing around with his Uncle on tour. It never bothered him. He had always thought it was playful banter. At least until he had found the video of his dad kissing his uncle in 2010 on one of their cruises. When he brought the video to his father’s attention, he had been visibly shaken. Eventually saying that Nick had had on a clear full face mask at the time. Sighing, he realized that it did all make sense. Everything Kody and Bec said were true. It was about love. And here was his dad sitting right in front of him telling him the same thing. Closing his eyes, he bowed his head. The silence was long. Finally, he lifted his head and asked in a whisper, “So what do I do?”

“That’s up to you.” Brian looked at his boy. “It hasn’t been picked up by mainstream media yet, but you know the fans have already caught on to the photos and the videos.” Baylee groaned. “You’re gonna have to come out and say something, whether you’re honest with everyone or you deny it, that’s up to you.”

“But what about my career?”

Brian shrugged. “I think you’ll find the country world a bit more accepting now than what it used to be. Yeah, we may face some push back from some old-timers but I really think you would be okay.”

Baylee sighed and stood up, watching his father do the same.

Brain took two steps and wrapped his arm around his son’s shoulders. “I really think this is going to be okay,” he said. “No matter what you decide.”

Baylee heard his phone ping in his pocket and groaned. Slipping it out as he walked, he saw the tag was from his mom. It was a black and white photo of him and his dad sitting in the hallway. He smiled. It was good to know he had the support of his parents, no matter his decision.

* * *

An hour later, Baylee was upstairs with his dad. He had his phone on a tripod. He knew he had to say something and he hoped his fanbase would accept him. It took him about fifteen takes to get what he wanted to say right, which was way longer than normal for him. And when he got frustrated after the fifth or sixth try, his dad reminded him that he didn’t have to say anything and that what he was saying was difficult.

When he finally had the video done and the way he wanted it, Baylee hesitated to release it on his socials. He had both his parents watch the video and he sent it to Bec and Kody. Everyone was on board with his message. Finally, he hit post to his Instagram account. It automatically shared to his Facebook account. He also uploaded it to his YouTube account. He looked at his parents, sitting across from him. His mom leaned across the table and put her hand on top of his. He took a breath and looked at his dad who nodded.

The hits started to come slowly. First from a few he knew, Kody, Bec, his own parents, and then they started coming in earnest. His family took time to actually monitor the comments, having put a restriction on it, so hopefully, there wouldn’t be too much negativity. After about twenty minutes of the posts being up, Baylee started to get text messages from his friends. Most of his friends were on board with him. A few didn’t say anything right away.

Baylee sighed and looked at his dad. “I guess it might be okay…” he said.

Brian nodded. “We’ll make it work.”

Baylee headed off to his room to go think about things. It was nearing dinner. He sent a text to Kody, who immediately sent him a Zoom invite. As soon as Baylee heard the familiar ping, he saw Kody in his hotel room. “Hey Stud!” he called. Baylee blushed as Kody continued, “Saw your vid. Way to go! Didn’t think you were gonna come out to the world though.”

Baylee shrugged. “Well, when you get caught in photos with a ‘bicon’ in front of the flag…” 

Kody laughed. “Yeah, sorry ‘bout that. Hope I didn’t force your hand.”

Shaking his head, Baylee smiled. “Nah. It woulda come out eventually.”

“So next year, do we get to sing your songs at karaoke?”

Baylee laughed. “I don’t know. I’m not sure how this is going to play out yet.”

“Well, I’m sure you’ll figure it out. Anyway, I should go. We’ve got a long flight tomorrow. I’ll message you when we land, okay?”

Baylee smiled and agreed. Logging off, he headed out of his room and about ran headlong into his dad. “Oh, hey, Bubs. I was coming to tell you that Mom’s got a couple of things brewing for you. We’re still sorting through some of the requests coming in…” He paused, looking at his son’s bemused look. “Are you okay?

Closing his eyes, Baylee just sighed. “It’s okay, Dad. I’ll figure this out eventually.” Baylee started walking down the hall, his father falling into step with him. “I’m just kinda taking it all in, ya know? I feel strange being single and all.”

“It’s the best place to be,” his dad said. “Especially while you are still figuring this out.”

Baylee sighed, “I guess.”

Brian stopped before they headed downstairs together. “Trust me on this one, Bubs,” he said. “I may not be able to help a lot right now as you figure this out, but I can tell you keeping secrets from those you love is so hard. Know that those who care about you will support you, no matter what.” He pulled his son into a hug and held him there. He felt the weight of his own secret finally starting to drop off.

Pulling back from his dad, Baylee looked at him. “Thanks, Dad.” He turned and the pair headed downstairs together.


End file.
